The threat of strike action on trains in the West Midlands has finally been withdrawn by drivers.

Central Trains has reached an agreement with union Aslef in a dispute over two drivers from Cambridge who had their grade reduced following serious safety incidents.

Strikes were planned for three Saturdays this month, but these were suspended following preliminary discussions with the company early in February.

Now, following further talks, agreement has been reached and the industrial action has been withdrawn.

Central Trains managing director Steve Banaghan said: "This means that we can now go forward with our plans for improving the services, working with our colleagues in the unions, and continuing to offer our passengers a reliable and consistent level of service once again."

Central added it was now looking at restoring some of the services withdrawn at the beginning of the year following the failure to reach an agreement with Aslef on voluntary overtime by drivers.

This led to the introduction of a special timetable from January 1 cutting around ten per cent of normal services.

The situation reached an embarrassing position last weekend when a number of routes had to be replaced by buses because about 20 drivers who normally volunteer for Sunday duty refused to work.